


Pulled Apart and Back Together

by FTinally



Category: Hey Arnold!
Genre: F/M, Getting Together, Long-Distance Relationship, Post-TJM, the jungle movie, tjm
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-09
Updated: 2017-10-09
Packaged: 2019-01-15 10:46:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,934
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12319479
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FTinally/pseuds/FTinally
Summary: Arnold found his parents in San Lorenzo, but that doesn't mean life is perfect for him or Helga. Arnold chooses to stay with his parents until they are able to get all of the logistics in line for them to return to Hillwood, and in the meantime Helga has to deal with the distance separating her from her beloved and her father's company closing. Will our favorite Hillwood couple ever be able to be together? Or will distance and uncontrollable circumstances pull them apart forever?





	Pulled Apart and Back Together

**Author's Note:**

> I was inspired by some Jungle Movie teasers I saw ***SPOILER*** where it looks like the beeper emporium is shutting down, and it reminded me of when Arnold almost had to move away in the first movie. So, I had a couple ideas bouncing around in my head that I put together into this! I hope you enjoy it! In case you can't guess by my username this is my favorite fandom.

    When Arnold had told Helga he was staying in San Lorenzo with his parents while they got things in order to return to Hillwood, Helga had used every ounce of her willpower to hold back her tears. After all, it only made sense that after not having his parents for eight years Arnold would want to stay with them for the undetermined amount of time it would take for them to get everything ready. But just because she knew it was completely understandable didn’t make it hurt any less. Even when Arnold promised he’d write her letters every day, all she could do was nod with a plastic smile on her face because she knew if she opened her mouth to speak, nothing but sobs would come out.

    All too soon it was time for everyone to get on the plane that would take them back to Hillwood, and that’s when Helga finally lost her composure. For the last day and a half she had been able to pretend it wasn’t happening, that some miracle would swoop in and make everything perfect. But that wasn’t going to happen in the next ten minutes, and Helga knew it.

    Arnold stood off to one side, talking with all of their classmates before they left. Most of their conversations were just general we’ll miss you’s and the like, then Phoebe hugged Arnold and said something that Helga couldn’t hear, and he nodded. Gerald hugged him and they did their handshake, and then Helga found herself standing in front of Arnold. It was her turn to say goodbye, and she wasn’t ready. All at once everything hit her, and Arnold being Arnold had just enough time to pull her aside where their classmates couldn’t see her while Phoebe distracted everyone.

    “It’ll be okay, Helga. I promise,” Arnold said quietly, pulling her into a tight hug. It took everything he had not to start crying himself. “My parents said it should only take a couple weeks for all of the legal stuff to be fixed, and then we’ll be on our way home. I’ll be back before you even get half my letters!”

    “But it’s not the same,” Helga managed out between quiet sobs.

    “I know. I know. The whole situation really bites. But I promise, as soon as I’m home, we’ll pick up right where we left off, okay?” Helga nodded, a small laughed escaping when Arnold used the edge of his shirt to dry her cheeks. “Hey,” he said, playfully tugging her pigtail. “I love you, okay?” Helga nodded.

    “And I love you, too,” she whispered.

    “Baby sister? Everyone is getting on the airplane now. We don’t want to keep the nice pilot waiting!” Olga called. Helga whipped around in the direction of her sister, but Arnold’s hand on her arm stopped her tirade before it could start.

    “Try not to get too upset with her, okay? She doesn’t know, remember?”

    “I know, but can’t I get five minutes of peace with you?”

    “Don’t worry,” Arnold said. “When we come home, you and I can have a picnic on the boarding house roof where no one can disturb us for hours.”

    “Really?”

    “Really.”

    “Okay,” Helga said, swallowing the lump in her throat. “Before I...go...can I ask you something?”

    “Anything.”

    “Will...will you...” Helga’s face was bright pink, but she managed to whisper out her question. “Will you kiss me again?”

    “Yeah,” Arnold said, blushing brightly. Gently he leaned in and placed a peck on her lips. “I love you,” he whispered one more time.

    “I love you, too.”

    “Baby sister?”

    “COMING OLGA!” Helga shouted. “I...guess I have to go now, huh?”

    “Yeah. It’s a long flight back to Hillwood.”

    “It’ll be even longer without you there to bug,” Helga teased. Arnold smiled.

    “Just build a shrine out of things you can find on the plane and torment that,” he suggested. Helga gave him a playful shove.

    “I should have never told you about that stuff!”

    “I’m glad you did, though,” Arnold said. “It’s cute.”

    “Yeah, that’s the word.” Together they walked back over to where Olga and Phoebe were standing. Helga hugged Arnold one last time, both of them holding on as if the other was their lifeboat in a stormy sea, and then all at once Helga was walking with Phoebe to the steps of the plane, and Arnold felt his parents on either side of him.

    “It’s just a few weeks,” Stella reminded him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

    “I know,” Arnold said. He and his parents waved as the plane took off, and the last thing Arnold saw was Helga wave goodbye as the tears began to fall again. These were going to be the longest few weeks of his life.

 

_____

 

    It took nearly a week for the first letter to make it to Helga, but when it did she couldn’t decide if it was the best or worst timing.

    “What do you mean we’re  _ moving _ ?” Helga asked.

    “Exactly that,” Bob said. “The beeper emporium is shut down. I gotta find a new job, but in the meantime we can’t afford to keep living in the city like this. The cost of living is astronomical! We won’t be far, just the next town or two over. You can still visit the city on weekends once you’re old enough to travel on your own.”

    “Am I going to have to change schools?!” Helga asked.

    “I don’t know, depends on where we move and how much it would cost. Look, we don’t have all of the details worked out yet. Your mother and I are going to look at some houses tomorrow. That’s step number one. I’m just giving you a heads up so you can start getting stuff packed.”

    “How soon are we moving?!”

    “As soon as possible. The less time we have to spend in this money sucker, the better.” The clattering mail slot caught Bob’s attention. “Eh, go see if there’s anything in the mail that’s important, will ya? I’m expecting some stuff from the bank.”

    Helga shuffled into the hallway and picked up the mail. The usual white, crisp envelopes all looked the same to her, but one stood out. It had way more stamps than any of the others, and instead of a typed address it was handwritten, and addressed to her. Tucking it down her shirt, Helga delivered the rest of the mail to her father before running up to her room. Once on her bed she carefully opened the letter, drinking in every word written in Arnold’s familiar handwriting.

 

~~_ Dear Helga, _ ~~

_ Hi Helga, _

_     I’m writing this letter about twenty minutes after you just left on the plane back home. I already miss you. My parents are doing everything they can to make me feel better, and I really appreciate it, but it’s still hard knowing I’m not going to see you or anyone else for so long. I know it’s hard for you, too. At least you still have my picture, though, right? The one in your locket? I have that one Phoebe took of us at the campfire under my pillow, so I can look at it when I miss you. My dad said he’s going to get me a journal, like his, if I want, so then I can keep it in there. I can’t wait to write down everything that happened here so one day I can show my kids. You’ll have to tell them your side of the story, though. I could never tell it as good, and you probably know all the details better than me anyway. _

_     How are you? How’s life in Hillwood? Hope I’m not missing anything too cool! I miss not being about to go to Gerald Field and play ball with your guys. That was always the best part of summer. Well, that and going to Slauson’s for ice cream. And throwing rocks at the dock. There are a lot of things that I miss about Hillwood, I guess. Anyway, I hope everything is going well with you. My dad’s calling me for dinner now, so I guess I have to end my letter for now. I’ll write you again tomorrow. _

 

_ Love, _

_ Arnold _

 

    Helga had to hold the letter away from her so she didn’t get tears on it. It sounded just like Arnold when he talked. She had grown numb over the course of the week she’d been home without him, but now the pain was back, and if anything it was worse. But still, Helga pulled out a piece of paper and began writing Arnold back. He needed to know what was going on.

 

~~_ Dearest Arn _ ~~

_ Hi Arnold, _

_     Sorry about that little...thing there. I kind of went into poetry mode. I’m not used to writing to you, you know? Anyway, I’m okay. Hillwood sucks without you. I haven’t even been able to hang out with Phoebe in three days because she and Gerald are always on a date somewhere. But Phoebe seems really happy, so I can’t be mad at her for it. We’d probably be the same way if you were here. _

_     So, I have to tell you...I’m moving. I know you know my dad had to close the beeper emporium, and he decided that living in the city is too expensive. We’re moving as soon as possible, and we’re moving at least to the next town over, maybe further. I might not even be able to keep going to school with you guys. I don’t know when or where we’re moving yet, but when I do I’ll tell you and give you my new address. Promise me you’ll keep sending me letters, okay? I miss you a lot. Like, a  _ _ lot _ _. Also, tell whoever is in charge of getting your parents home that they need to do it faster. I don’t want to wait any more to see you, especially if I’m moving away. All I know is my new room had better have a phone jack like this one does. Then I can at least call you while we do homework together, right? Too bad we can’t go stop some CEO again to keep me from moving, huh? Maybe you could be Deep Voice this time? You can borrow my trenchcoat. _

_     I really miss you, Arnold. I don’t really know what else to tell you besides I really, really miss you, and I can’t wait until you’re home. I promise if we move before then I’ll figure out some way to get into the city when you come home. Then we can have our rooftop picnic? _

 

_ I love you, _

_ Helga _

 

    Helga read over the letter once, folded it, and sealed it into an envelope quickly. She still felt like crying. Everything about this whole situation really sucked, and that was pretty spectacular considering her life before hadn’t exactly been awesome.

 

_____

 

    Helga never did end up writing Arnold again. She couldn’t. Every time a letter arrived and she saw  _ Helga G. Pataki _ written in his handwriting it sent a sharp pang through her heart. Besides, there wasn’t anything to tell him. They hadn’t moved yet, so she didn’t need to give him a new address. She read every letter, though, hoping and praying each time that there would be a letter saying they were coming home.

    Finally, after many, many, many long weeks, Arnold sent her the letter she needed:

 

_ Dear Helga, _

_ WE’RE COMING HOME!!! _

_ See you on August 13th, at about 2pm. We’re going from the airport to the boarding house, but if you aren’t at the boarding house, can I come over? I’ve missed you SO much. See you soon. _

 

_ Love, _

_ Arnold _

 

    Helga screamed so loud she was surprised no one called the cops, and later was very thankful her parents hadn’t been home.

    Until dinner, that is.

    “So, we finally go the last okay!” Bob said, stabbing a forkful of meatloaf.

    “The last okay for what?” Helga asked warily.

    “To move into the new house! We’ll leave the 13th after lunch and have plenty of time to get the truck unpacked. Hope you’ve got all of your stuff packed up, missy, because if it’s not in the truck when we leave you can kiss it goodbye.” Helga’s fork clattered to her plate. The 13th. Arnold’s 13th. She wasn’t going to be here. Helga stood up from the table so fast the dishes on it rattled, but she couldn’t hear her father’s reprimand over the pounding of her heart. She ran up the stairs two at a time, and locked her bedroom door just in time for the tears to hit. After all this waiting, after trying her best to wait patiently for Arnold to finally come home, he was coming home the day she left.

    “This sucks! Everything sucks! Why can’t anything in my life go right  _ just once _ ?” Helga wondered aloud. Tears still streaming down her face, Helga grabbed her Arnold locket and the shoebox full of his letters, two of the few things she hadn’t packed yet, and took them up to her shrine. Normally she’d be up here doing some kind of spell or chant to make things work out in her favor, but if there was one thing Helga knew now, it was that sometimes life just sucks, and you can’t change it. Not even with spunky willpower and a few homemade spells. So instead of donning her blanket-cape and Arnold mask, Helga wrapped herself up in her blanket, tucked her locket as close to her as she could, and cried herself to sleep.

 

_____

 

    Helga moved as slowly as she could bringing boxes out to the truck. It was 2:15pm, and Arnold should be there any minute. Granted, Helga hadn’t actually told him he could come over, but he’d come over anyway, right?

    “Come on, Olga, get a move on!” Bob yelled, “We’re paying by the hour for this truck!”

    “I’m doing the best I can!” Helga replied, knowing full well that was a lie. She shoved another box onto the truck, and behind her heard the one voice she wanted to hear most.

    “Helga!” Arnold was running down the street as fast as he could, his backpack from the trip home still on his back.

    “Arnold!” Helga yelled, jumping off the truck and running towards Arnold. They collided in a hug so hard Helga briefly wondered if they were going to fall over. “You’re here. You’re really here. I missed you so much, and I didn’t think you were going to get here in time but you did and you’re here,” she mumbled.

    “I know, I’m sorry. We had delays taking off, and then getting back into the country, but we finally made it. Grandpa told me you guys were moving today and drove me here, but we got stuck in traffic a few streets over and I had to run the rest of the way here. I’m so glad I got here before you left.”

    “Well, that’s the last of it,” Bob declared, pulling the back of the moving truck closed. “Come on, Olga, let’s get going. You can call your friend once we get the phones hooked up.” Helga bit her lip, trying both not to yell at her father and cry. Every time she finally got to be with Arnold they were ripped apart again!

    “This isn’t fair,” Helga said.

    “It’s not, but it will be okay,” Arnold said. “We can still see each other sometimes, and we can talk on the phone.”

    “But it’s not the same as being able to take the bus or walk a few streets over and see you!” Helga said.

    “I know,” Arnold said. He hugged her tightly and pecked a kiss on her cheek. “I’ve been wanting to do that since about five minutes after you got on the plane,” he admitted. “But you should go. Don’t make your dad angry.”

    “He can go walk off the pier,” Helga grumbled. “I’ll call you as soon as we get the phones set up. Wait, I don’t have your number!”

    “Here,” Arnold pulled a pen out of his backpack and wrote his number on Helga’s hand. “I’ll talk to you soon and you can tell me all about your new house, okay?”

    “Okay,” Helga agreed, even though she still just wanted to sit on the front steps of her house and refuse to move. Was it childish and pointless? Yes. She didn’t care. Instead she gave Arnold another hug, kissed him quickly when her parents weren’t looking, and climbed into the back seat of their car among the boxes and items that hadn’t fit in the truck. She rolled the window down and waved as they drove away. “I’ll call you as soon as we get the phones set up, unless it’s really late at night. Then I’ll call you in the morning.”

    “I’ll be waiting. Don’t worry, Helga, everything will be okay.”

    “Always the optimist,” Helga mumbled as Arnold grew smaller and smaller. Once he was out of sight she settled down in her seat and looked at her Arnold locket, hidden from Miriam's view as she attempted to focus on following Bob in the truck.

    Three hours later they were pulling over at a restaurant, and Helga happily took the opportunity to stretch her legs. The restaurant was small, dim, and one wall was taken up by the bar. Helga sat down at a table while both of her parents sat at the bar.

     “Figures,” she muttered. “How they’re not both alcoholics is beyond me.” Helga ordered her food, making sure to inform the server who her parents were so they knew who to charge, and waited for her burger and fries. It arrived shortly, however she was only three bites in when Bob walked over.

    “Time to pack it in, Olga, we’re getting back on the road.”

    “Are you kidding me? I just go my food!” Helga exclaimed.

    “Well take to to go or something! We’ve got a three hour drive back to Hillwood.”

    “Wait, what do you mean back to Hillwood?” Helga’s heart lept, despite the part of her brain stamping it down. No sense getting her hopes up for nothing, they probably just forgot something.

    “I was talking to a guy at the bar over there and he’s looking for a business partner selling computers and...what was it he called them? Smart phones? Heck if I know what makes them smart, but anyway, it means I’ve got a better job than I would have in this backwoods town. Good thing we haven’t sold the old house yet, huh? Anyway, I want to get back on the road so we can get there before midnight. Let’s go.” Bob walked back to where Miriam was slouched at the bar to get her up and pay their bill. In the meantime Helga stuck her food into several napkins and ran out to the car. Digging around under the seats and in the ashtray she found just enough change to use the payphone next to the restaurant.

    “Hello, Sunset Arms boarding house,” Arnold answered the phone after a few rings.

    “Arnold! It’s me, Helga!” Helga said.

    “Helga! Hi! How’s your new house? Do you like it?”

    “No, Arnold, listen, I only have a few minutes. I’m on a payphone outside this restaurant with like five minutes of talk time. My dad met this guy at the bar and found out he’s opening an electronics store in Hillwood, and he offered my dad-”

    “Olga, let’s go!” Bob called.

    “One second, dad! Arnold, we’re coming ho-” the line went dead, and Helga was stuck with the monotonous female voice telling her to add money if she wanted to continue her call. Frustrated, Helga slammed the receiver down on the hook and ran to the car. “Let’s go!” she said, buckling her seatbelt and grabbing her food. As they pulled out of the parking lot all Helga could think of was how everything, somehow, was finally turning around.

 

_____

 

    As soon as the car pulled into the driveway Helga was out of the car and running. She could hear Bob yelling that she needed to help unpack the truck, but Helga had more important things to do. It didn’t take long before she was stumbling up the stairs of the boarding house and knocking on the door.

    “Oh, Helga, how nice to see you!” Stella said when she opened the door. “I thought Arnold said you were moving away today. Is everything alright?”

    “Everything’s fine,” Helga said, still trying to catch her breath. “I’m sorry, I know it’s kind of late, but is there any chance I could talk to Arnold? Just for a few minutes? It’s important.”

    “Of course, dear, come on in and I’ll go get him.” Stella showed Helga to the living room and offered her a glass of water, which Helga accepted to soothe her dry throat, and went upstairs to find Arnold. A few minutes later Arnold was racing down the stairs and into the living room.

    “Helga! You’re here! What happened? Your call got cut off before you could tell me.”

    “Arnold, we’re staying in Hillwood!” Helga said, jumping up and hugging him tightly. “My dad is going to work at this guy’s computer store and we’re staying in our same house and I get to see you all the time and we can still go to the same school and everything is finally working out the way it should!”

    “That’s fantastic, Helga!” Arnold exclaimed, hugging her back. “I’m so glad you get to stay!”

    “Really?” Helga couldn’t help asking.

    “Of course. I mean, things would be really boring around here without you. Who would call me Football Head and bug me during class?”

    “I mean, I kind of figured now that we’re...y’know...a thing, I wouldn’t pick on you. At least not nearly as much.”

    “Just don’t stop calling me Football Head, okay?” Arnold said. “I’d miss my nickname.”

    “Arnold, did not having me around for so long make you loopy?” Helga asked. “Since when do you like me calling you Football Head?”

    “Well, I stopped minding it probably around April Fool’s Day last year. Since then it’s grown on me, and now I like it. No one but you calls me it. It’s kind of like, I don’t know, our special little thing.” Arnold shrugged, smiling slightly. “Is that weird?”

    “I mean, I think it sounds completely insane, but that’s because I kind of figured you’d hate me for it. But hey, if you want me to call you Football Head then I will, Footbal Head.”

    “Good,” Arnold said. “Now I just need to think of a nickname for you.”

    “Uh, I think I’m good without the nickname,” Helga said, rolling her eyes and blushing a little.

    “Not even Cecil?” Arnold asked teasingly. “Or Deep Voice? What about Juliet?”

    “Arnold, I swear, it is far too late at night for me to relive every embarrassing thing I’ve done in my life.”

    “Okay, sorry Helga. It is pretty late, though. Your parents are probably getting worried.”

    “Worried isn’t the word I would used. Ticked off that I didn’t stay to help unpack the van is more likely. But I should probably go home. Gotta unpack and remake my bed before I can sleep in it.”

    “Can I walk you home?” Arnold asked, offering his hand.

    “I think that could be arranged,” Helga said, taking Arnold’s hand. They stepped out into the early evening, and didn’t let go until they were on Helga’s stoop.


End file.
